Baseball

"If you're looking for a coach that
accomplishes a lot with not much in terms of resources, look no
further than Foster. Foster guided the Rams to a 34-16 record in
his first season with the program back in '06. He also led the Rams
to 31 wins in '08 before taking a huge step forward [in 2009] with
a 37-20 record. URI also should've made an NCAA regional [that
year] after recording a few marquee wins. Foster isn't dealing with
a full 11.7 scholarships, but still is finding ways to win. That's
impressive."

- Kendall Rogers, Yahoo!
Sports/Rivals.com

"It's nothing short of incredible what coach
Jim Foster has managed to do there... URI does a tremendous job
allocating resources and getting the most out of its talent."

- Aaron Fitt, Baseball
America

"URI is a very good baseball team. They are not
average, they are very good and they are going to be very difficult
in the very near future. I was very impressed with
them."

- Mike Martin,
Florida State head coach/ABCA Hall of
Famer

“Jim Foster does such a great job with that
program. They don’t just play the game hard, they play the
game right. They are able to catch it and throw it. They used two
pitchers today, that doesn’t happen in the SEC. They come in
as a visitor and only use six pitchers the whole weekend and were
in every single game. You have to tip your hat to them. I’m
proud of our guys and the way we hung in there."

- Mike
Bianco, Ole Miss head coach

Jim Foster - Coaching
Honors/Accomplishments

Became Rhode Island baseball's all-time winningest coach
(5/13/14)

Victory over #22 Notre Dame (2013)

Atlantic 10 Regular Season Co-Champions (2013)

Victory over #29 College of Charleston (2012)

Named the A-10’s best coach in College Baseball
Insider’s preseason preview (2012, 2010)

Posted six consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time in
program history (2008-13)

Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2011)

Victories over #19 Connecticut and #20 College of Charleston
(2011)

Head Coach of University Team at 37th Annual NEIBA All-Star
Game (2011)

Named the A-10’s Coach on the Rise in Rivals.com’s
preseason preview (2010)

Back-to-back wins over #27 Charlotte (2010)

Set new URI record with 37 wins (2009)

Victories over #8 Miami, #11 Oklahoma State and #25 Ohio State
(2009)

College Baseball Insider National Coach of the Year honorable
mention (2009)

New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Coach
of the Year (2009)

Head Coach of University Team at 35th Annual NEIBA All-Star
Game (2009)

Words Unlimited Men’s Sports Coach of the Year
(2009)

BoSox Club award for Top-Ranked Division I Baseball Team in New
England (2009)

Named the A-10’s best coach in College Baseball
Insider’s preseason preview (2009)

Named the A-10’s Coach on the Rise in Rivals.com’s
preseason preview (2009)

The Warwick, R.I. native has continued to build URI into one of
the premier collegiate baseball programs in the Northeast. In just
nine seasons as head coach, he has raised over $2 million for
facility renovations and additions, most recently constructing an
indoor hitting facility along the right field side of
Bill Beck Field.

Also in this time, Foster has guided the Rams to nine wins over
nationally-ranked opponents while posting six-consecutive 30-win
seasons (2008-13) for the first time in school history.

Additionally, he has produced nine MLB draft picks, including
the program's highest-ever selection in Eric Smith - who was
taken 60th overall in the second round of the 2009 draft. In
the summer of 2014, Foster saw his first player make it to the
majors when left handed pitcher Nick Greenwood earned the win in
his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Foster has become known for challenging his club with games
against the nation's best competition, traveling to take on the No.
1 team in four of the past five seasons (Florida State-2012,
Florida-2011, Virginia-2010). Additionally, Foster’s Rams
visited the two teams that vied for the 2014 national title
(Vanderbilt & Virginia), four of the eight teams that advanced
to the 2012 College World Series (Florida, Florida State, South
Carolina, Stony Brook) and five of the eight 2011 CWS participants
(California, Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Vanderbilt).

In 2013, URI opened the season with the most difficult
schedule in the nation as the Rams were the only team in the
country to play eight consecutive road games against top-10 teams
(three at #9 Florida State, three at #8 Ole Miss, two at #5
Mississippi State).

The Rams also made their 11th-consecutive appearance at the
Atlantic 10 tournament in 2013 - which was the longest active
streak among any conference team. Led by 2013 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Sean Furney, Rhode
Island finished the regular season ranked sixth in the nation in
Hits Allowed Per Nine Innings (7.05) and had the country's
eighth-best WHIP average (1.13). Individually, freshman starter
Steve Moyers finished regular season play ranked fifth among all
NCAA Division I players with just 5.43 hits allowed per nine inning
pitched.

In 2010, Foster saw Tim Boyce receive one of the league's top
honors as he was named the A-10 Pitcher of the
Year. A two-time National Pitcher of the Week in 2010, Boyce
turned in the nation's longest streak his senior season as he
pitched 37.2 consecutive scoreless innings from April 30-May 26.
During that span, he turned in three straight complete-game
shutouts while holding opponents to a .109 batting average.

After a banner year in 2009 - where Foster's club notched
victories over No.
8 Miami, No.
11 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Ohio State -
the Rams began to draw national attention while turning in a
program-best 37 wins and a trip to the Atlantic 10 title game.

In his first year at Rhode Island, Foster posted an impressive
34-16 record, including a 19-6 finish in the Atlantic 10. The Rams
claimed their fourth-consecutive regular-season title and had seven
different individuals named to the All-Conference team - including
2006 Atlantic 10
Pitcher of the Year Steve Holmes, who led the nation with a
1.30 ERA.

Foster served as Rhode Island's pitching coach and also worked
with the team's catchers prior to his appointment as head coach.
The Rams' earned run average ranked them in the top-35 nationally
in both 2005 and 2006 as three of Foster's pitchers went on to sign
professional contracts in the two-year span (Zack Zuercher/St.
Louis Cardinals/2005, Mick Lefort/Chicago Cubs/2005 and Steve
Holmes/New York Mets/2006). For his efforts, Foster was nominated
for the 2005 NCAA Pitching Coach of the Year award.

Foster was an All-Big East and two-time All-New England
selection at Providence. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles
and spent seven years with the organization. He also played in the
Arizona Diamondbacks, Anaheim Angels and Chicago White Sox farm
systems. He was named Baseball Weekly's Minor League Catcher of the
Year in 1997 and was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team in
1993.

Foster retired after spending 10 years in the minor leagues. He
then spent two years as an assistant coach at Brown where he served
as hitting coach and worked with the team's catchers.